Rear brake skidding/sliding out in the wet

1964johnr

I favour the right hand brake and recently swapped my brakes round so that the right brake is linked to the back wheel. In recent rides when pulling on the brake the back wheel has skidded and slid, especially in the wet. I never had an issue with the brakes the other way round when using the right hand brake for the front wheel. I switched them round because I thought it would be safer to pull on the back brake rather than the front, especially when cornering. The rear tyre (Mavic Aksium) has done 4,000 miles so I guess this might be an issue. Anyone got any theories?

lettingthedaysgoby

Don’t brake whilst cornering.

cooldad

The front brake does most of the work. Put them back the way you are used to.

jgsi

If you have to brake during a corner, you have seriously got things wrong.
This truth has been a truth ever since wheeled transport has been about but of course you know better. :roll:

tomisitt

Your front brake will stop you quicker and safer than the rear, so swap your set-up back to how it was. Your braking should be around 70/30 front/rear, and never rear only (because when you brake your weight shifts forward, the rear tyre unloads, and anything more than a gentle squeeze on the rear brake will lock the back wheel).

First.Aspect

You seem to be saying that you have switched your brakes round so thst you dont brake hard with the front brake, it being "safer" to use the back brake. The main flaw in your reasoning is that there is 30% or less braking power available to the rear tyre. When you run out of braking force your wheel locks, whereupon you are in the realms of dynamic rather than static friction. That's bad, by the way.

If you are afraid of braking hard with the front brake I assume you are new to cycling. You should be able to brake very hard indeed on the front without going over the bars, but you do need to know how to move your weight around in the bike.

My advice is to change your brakes to whatever feels most natural and post something on road beginners on how to deal with sharp braking safely.

frisbee

If you need to brake in a corner, use the back brake. Ideally you should avoid it but applying the front brake, especially suddenly, in a corner is far worse.

In the UK the convention is to have the front brake on the right. I would stick to this and get used to it, if you ever ride a different bike with the brakes swapped... Motorbikes are also front on the right.

cougie

User error.

Sutton_Rider

tomisitt wrote:

Your front brake will stop you quicker and safer than the rear, so swap your set-up back to how it was. Your braking should be around 70/30 front/rear, and never rear only (because when you brake your weight shifts forward, the rear tyre unloads, and anything more than a gentle squeeze on the rear brake will lock the back wheel).

75/25 in the dry on a good surface - 50/50 in the wet - 0/100 on a loose or slippery surface or when cornering. (but try and get all the braking done before the corner).

manglier

Primary braking is done with the front brake as previously mentioned, it does not matter which side the front brake lever is on. However it is worth noting that you do get a neater cable run with the front lever on the left, In this configuration the cable runs can be made shorter (lighter) and there is less fretting of the rear cable on the head tube. I am talking rim brakes here since I have no knowlege of disks.

StillGoing

frisbee wrote:

If you need to brake in a corner, use the back brake. Ideally you should avoid it but applying the front brake, especially suddenly, in a corner is far worse.

In the UK the convention is to have the front brake on the right. I would stick to this and get used to it, if you ever ride a different bike with the brakes swapped... Motorbikes are also front on the right.

Not true. Trail braking with the front is commonly used, but takes a delicate touch. Grab a handful and you're down. Using the rear brake in a corner works on a motorcycle by tightening the line, but on a cycle is a sure way to lose the back end as the only feel you get from it is with your backside rather than the hands through the bars.

Whilst UK bikes are prepped with the front brake on the right ALA motorcycles, it makes more sense for it it be on the left so riders can signal right turns to traffic coming from behind as they approach and still be able to apply front braking force with the left hand. For left turns, nothing is going to come up the inside of you so is less important for signalling whilst braking. Plenty of owners switch the front brake to the left.

frisbee

philthy3 wrote:

frisbee wrote:

If you need to brake in a corner, use the back brake. Ideally you should avoid it but applying the front brake, especially suddenly, in a corner is far worse.

In the UK the convention is to have the front brake on the right. I would stick to this and get used to it, if you ever ride a different bike with the brakes swapped... Motorbikes are also front on the right.

Not true. Trail braking with the front is commonly used, but takes a delicate touch. Grab a handful and you're down. Using the rear brake in a corner works on a motorcycle by tightening the line, but on a cycle is a sure way to lose the back end as the only feel you get from it is with your backside rather than the hands through the bars.

Whilst UK bikes are prepped with the front brake on the right ALA motorcycles, it makes more sense for it it be on the left so riders can signal right turns to traffic coming from behind as they approach and still be able to apply front braking force with the left hand. For left turns, nothing is going to come up the inside of you so is less important for signalling whilst braking. Plenty of owners switch the front brake to the left.

Yes true. Did I mention trail braking? No. Trail braking is a specific technique and it isn't what you are describing.

Using the back brake is not a sure way of loosing the back end. A push bike will behave in an identical way to a motorbike if you use the back brake in a corner. It'll let you tighten the line or bleed off a bit of speed.

Very few people switch their brakes around.

cooldad

Anyone who has to actually think about braking whilst doing it needs to ride more.

StillGoing

frisbee wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

frisbee wrote:

If you need to brake in a corner, use the back brake. Ideally you should avoid it but applying the front brake, especially suddenly, in a corner is far worse.

In the UK the convention is to have the front brake on the right. I would stick to this and get used to it, if you ever ride a different bike with the brakes swapped... Motorbikes are also front on the right.

Not true. Trail braking with the front is commonly used, but takes a delicate touch. Grab a handful and you're down. Using the rear brake in a corner works on a motorcycle by tightening the line, but on a cycle is a sure way to lose the back end as the only feel you get from it is with your backside rather than the hands through the bars.

Whilst UK bikes are prepped with the front brake on the right ALA motorcycles, it makes more sense for it it be on the left so riders can signal right turns to traffic coming from behind as they approach and still be able to apply front braking force with the left hand. For left turns, nothing is going to come up the inside of you so is less important for signalling whilst braking. Plenty of owners switch the front brake to the left.

Yes true. Did I mention trail braking? No. Trail braking is a specific technique and it isn't what you are describing.

Using the back brake is not a sure way of loosing the back end. A push bike will behave in an identical way to a motorbike if you use the back brake in a corner. It'll let you tighten the line or bleed off a bit of speed.

Very few people switch their brakes around.

Braking in a corner is trail braking. Its for when you've overcooked the speed for entry and need to scrub a little bit more off. Being banked over means the contact patch is further jeopardised by the lean angle and the forces wanting to push the bike tyre outwards. Applying the rear brake which has little feed back to the rider allowing them to know when they're on the limit of adhesion, greatly increases the risk of the rear stepping out. The front brake will give the rider greater feedback through contact with the hands via the bars. A motorcycle is slightly different in that the rider's feet are fixed to the footpegs as opposed to on rotating objects. A motorcycle rider can sense slightly more where the limit of adhesion is.

You might want to check, because more riders than you think switch brake operation around both for the practicality of using the brakes in turns and for the better line of the cabling.

svetty

Front wheel braking in a bend is just asking to have the tyre to lose grip and tuck under with a rider to tarmac interaction resulting.
Ideally the braking should be completed before turning in but if you have to brake in the turn just use the rear to scrub off speed with the body weight over the rear wheel.